Houston Mayor unveils comprehensive fix for 'broken' water billing system
Houston mayor unveils water bill plan: report
In City Hall, both a "promise" and a "comprehensive plan" were made to eliminate the widely inaccurate water bills that have plagued thousands of "blind-sided" Houston residents. FOX 26's Political Reporter Greg Groogan reports exactly what Houstonians can expect.
HOUSTON - Houston Mayor John Whitmire unveiled a massive repair initiative aiming to eliminate a virtual blitzkrieg of grossly inaccurate city water tabs inflicted on thousands of customers.
"The water system has been broken; the water billing has been broken for years....Tell everyone. You get an outrageous bill this month. Ignore it," said Whitmire.
At the very core of the problem are broken residential usage sensors.
"125,000 folks, almost a third of them have broken sensors, been this way for years, kicking the can down the road," said Whitmire.
The mayor's remedy - complete replacement of every malfunctioning meter by the end of December, four years ahead of the previous schedule at a cost of $35 million.
In the meantime, residents will be charged a rate based upon their 36-month water usage average or 3,000 gallons per monthly cycle for new customers.
"We will not move anybody back into getting a bill based on actual (usage), unless we have that first step of you having a remote device that is working communicating, consistently and verifiably."
Whitmire also pledged a new era of customer-friendly service and a transparency enhancing digital "dashboard" for Houstonians to view their accounts.
"I want to be held accountable. If this plan is not a huge improvement and gets water billing off the news, then there is going to be a lot of people looking for work. That's how dead serious I am," said Whitmire.
The Mayor says the tens of thousands of Houston households with broken sensors can expect to see their interim, average rate on their May water bill.